(which is the Italian word for an apprentice) and would spend many years learning to be an artist under the direction of Verrocchio.

Those years flew by. Leonardo grew up to be a handsome and strong young man. He worked long days and slept at night in the upstairs living quarters with the other apprentices. Maestro Verrocchio was kind but strict, and his apprentices worked very hard. For the first few months Leonardo did nothing but sweep the floor, clean paintbrushes, and listen to the talk of the other apprentices and craftsmen. He watched everything that was going on. And in Verrocchio's bottega, there was so much going on! The wealthy people of Florence would come in to have their portraits painted. They asked Verrocchio to make items of silver and gold, armor and coats of arms, statues, dishes, and furniture. Verrocchio and his apprentices even made bells for churches and cannons used to guard the town. This work was done by the older apprentices.

Leonardo cleaned and swept. Eventually he was given the daily task of grinding pigments to make paint. After he mastered each task he was given a harder one. He polished bronze statues. He learned how to make paintbrushes. He prepared wooden panels for painting. He longed for the day when he would be able to use these materials and not just prepare them for another artist. In the meantime he sketched whenever he had time.

One day Verrocchio received a very important commission. Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, was nearly finished after almost two hundred years of construction. The final touch needed was a great bronze globe to be placed on the top. It would be a challenge to create, for the globe was to be twenty feet across and weigh over two tons. And not only would it be difficult to make—Verrocchio and his apprentices also had to figure out a way to install it on the top of the cathedral! Leonardo

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learned there was more to art than holding a paintbrush. The artists had to cast the globe in bronze, develop architectural plans, and even design the cranes and pulleys needed to install it. For this commission, art and engineering went hand in hand. In the workshop the apprentices calculated and designed for months. Plans covered the walls. On the spring day when it was installed, the whole town turned out to watch.

Meanwhile, there were still tombstones to create out of marble, death masks to make out of plaster, and coats of arms and banners to design. Leonardo was finally allowed to help on small assignments and he was happy to be using the brushes he had made. He painted the backgrounds of pictures. He also posed for a statue by Verrocchio. The Maestro captured Leonardo's fine features and thick, wavy hair in a figure of David.

The bottega was a favorite place for artists to gather and talk. Verrocchio's great talent attracted many artists who came to learn from him. Sometimes one of the apprentices would pick up a lute and sit in a corner and play. The young men argued about their ideas, teased each other about their progress, and taught each other new techniques.

Oil painting had just been introduced to Italy by visiting artists from northern Europe and Verrocchio's students were very excited about the new medium. Leonardo spent a lot of time mixing different materials to see what would make the best paint. He ground up different substances for pigments and mixed them with linseed or walnut oils. He tried new techniques to use with the oil paints. Leonardo had such great skill using the new medium that he soon surpassed all the others.

Another new idea the artists discussed was how to show perspective and depth in painting. Before Leonardo's time, objects and people in paintings were shown as flat and two-